A look at some LED COB light strips for cars / automobiles.

A look at some LED COB light strips for cars / automobiles.

This is one of a variety of LED panels using COB (Chip On Board) mounting of LED arrays. In this case the unit is designed to directly operate on 12V by using four parallel groups of LEDs wired in series to give a combined forward voltage of 12V (4 times the typical 3V forward voltage.)
Unfortunately this unit would pass an extremely high amount of current if used in a vehicle, as the alternator charging voltage is higher than 12V and while the panel drew about 350mA at 12V (4W) it increased to about 1 Amp at 14V (14W) and that results in the metal backplate getting very hot quickly. The inclusion of self adhesive foam strips to attach the lights to a surface doesn’t help much as the foam would provide extra thermal insulation.

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49 Comments

  1. PSH on May 25, 2023 at 12:24 pm

    I bouth a cob strip bar similiar to the one you have on the video, mine is input VoLt 12.14V ~power 10w. I was going to use it as a 3rd brake light.

    Would it be safer if I use a Step-down Converter DC-DC 5-23V?

    I foud this one on ebay, https://www.ebay.com/itm/3A-Micro-DC-DC-5-23V-to-1-17V-3V-6V-9V-12V-Buck-Step-down-Converter-Power-Module/173682640710?hash=item28704ac746:g:dP8AAOSw0ZRb4AIO:rk:3:pf:0

    Will this converter resolve the problem of the 14V in a car?

    Regards



  2. Gadget Man on May 25, 2023 at 12:26 pm

    Thanks for the info.



  3. pilokxx on May 25, 2023 at 12:26 pm

    I installed them on my car today for parking lights actually. They work great, but after a minute i saw they were very very hot to the touch, and also because of the heat and vibration on the road, the glue tends to unstick so i have them mounted and i will use silicon probably to glue them better, also i left them on to take a pic without the engine running. And ALMOST drained my battery when i went to start the car. I was lucky. I Drive a fiat seicento suite 1998 and it had broken parking lights when i purchase it.



  4. Christian Cuadra on May 25, 2023 at 12:27 pm

    Why cob light is getting hotter when in used..



  5. Hiran Kanchana on May 25, 2023 at 12:28 pm

    Is this product flexible? U want to male it curve shape



  6. Sebastian Krasowski on May 25, 2023 at 12:28 pm

    Im planing to make my bike light from this 17cm bars and to power them from 12v small gel battery



  7. Coon Dung on May 25, 2023 at 12:35 pm

    It’s too glaring and can pose a danger to incoming drivers at night .



  8. Gameplay Join on May 25, 2023 at 12:40 pm

    How to install that lights to electricity



  9. Jeff P on May 25, 2023 at 12:41 pm

    I would like to use something like this to light an old Chevy emblem. Could I use some like this and cut it to fit? Of course keep connections in tact? Could you suggest something please. Thank you.



  10. william armstrong on May 25, 2023 at 12:41 pm

    I have bought some for use on my car.. at 12 volt they get too hot. With engine running they would last only a few min.
    What resistor would I need to add to cut them back to an acceptable running temp?



  11. Dumb Reach on May 25, 2023 at 12:43 pm

    Wow I just bought a pack of these and I was hoping for longer wires to reach the fuse box. ?



  12. DigitalIP on May 25, 2023 at 12:43 pm

    I started using the 6-10w versions as fog lights and additional reverse lights (Changed out the sucky wiring they came with obviously). The only problem i have with them is that the battery/alternator affects them so what would i need to keep the voltage constant? I have them wired up via cig lighter adapters with on/off switches.



  13. Danny Goode on May 25, 2023 at 12:44 pm

    The metal enclosures has no protection to keep it shorting out where the wires are connected to LED strip, 1st thing I did was dispose of the metal frames. I did a test to see how much pressure it took to press down and make the frame contact the wire connections…it only took slight finger press, the little wires feeding the circuit immediately got hot enough to melt all the insulation off.
    I used these to make custom lights for the grill of a KIA Soul, the first set (three of these strips) lasted about an hour. Rebuilt with three more strips they lasted about a day. Then I put a LED driver that provides a constant 12 vdc to strip and they have been working for over a year.



  14. LEO on May 25, 2023 at 12:44 pm

    Comment on branche ça ?’



  15. Dainen G on May 25, 2023 at 12:44 pm

    So would a few of these drain your car battery pretty quickly when its not running?



  16. Tim Green on May 25, 2023 at 12:44 pm

    So how can I fix this problem? I agree my alternator kicks 14.9V when current demand is high. I have used various units like these and strip led and about 30% failed leds (they are sealed up totally, so no damp) Some still light up with raised voltage, I think they are fatigued by the high voltages/heat. Can I measure current and build something simple or is a regulator board the only solution? Then if I drive them at 11V will they live longer? Great content Thx



  17. VlogBiker on May 25, 2023 at 12:44 pm

    KISS principle guys…. diodes are a quick simple solution to keep that voltage low enough to these panels and yes I know the battery in the car will drop but I never seem to find myself sitting in my car with the lights on like Im going to read a book or something



  18. genesclean1 on May 25, 2023 at 12:45 pm

    Very cheaply made. I bought 2 sets for my VW Beetle grill both failed. Not waterproof. The wires are exposed at the connection. They are bright and worked well, briefly as Daytime running lights. Also I had to use zip ties to keep the tape from releasing it’s grip…probably because of the heat generated.



  19. comm744 on May 25, 2023 at 12:49 pm

    In North America. Most all vehicles run on 13.8 volts when the alternator is running
    .



  20. Tname N on May 25, 2023 at 12:52 pm

    My led DRL lights half part not lights up, how to fix



  21. Matias Gatti on May 25, 2023 at 12:52 pm

    Is it possible to use a 12V Zener Diode to get constants 12v ?



  22. Jm Defiño on May 25, 2023 at 12:52 pm

    can i use 9 v battery?



  23. C.V Ian on May 25, 2023 at 12:54 pm

    Do you still have link?



  24. Erik Espinoza on May 25, 2023 at 12:56 pm

    So these on a 12v 1amp adapter would be ok heat wise?



  25. renny khan on May 25, 2023 at 12:59 pm

    I want to run these inside a car reflector, Im worried about the heat aspect mentioned above. Is there an alternative to these strips? I want a full bar type look instead of single led light look.



  26. Lindvall Paul on May 25, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    Are they dimmable ?



  27. sim shogun on May 25, 2023 at 1:02 pm

    I run a regulated 12 volt circuit in any vehicle and this gives them huge reliability and a long life.



  28. Akashdeep Singh on May 25, 2023 at 1:03 pm

    Price



  29. Dado sljivo on May 25, 2023 at 1:03 pm

    Os VERY HOT..WHY???



  30. mike jh on May 25, 2023 at 1:06 pm

    Not to keep having the + – being so close to the ali case



  31. Sanket Khairnar on May 25, 2023 at 1:06 pm

    Can it starts with mobile charger adapter?



  32. Fish Lives Matter on May 25, 2023 at 1:07 pm

    how much Volts and Amps needed to light 2 led lights together?



  33. Ryan Roberts on May 25, 2023 at 1:08 pm

    Anybody driving around with these stupid things on their car is a wanker. Wrong application, mostly illegal.



  34. Fish Lives Matter on May 25, 2023 at 1:08 pm

    do ineed another adapted for the other one ? or can I connect it in series/parallel to use the same power supply?



  35. David Moran on May 25, 2023 at 1:11 pm

    I like the idea of using what I call a chopper circuit to pulse LEDs and vary the duty cycle so they don’t draw current all the time. Pulse Width Modulator, used as a dimmer on my under cabinet lights.



  36. D on May 25, 2023 at 1:11 pm

    There good solar panels



  37. stephen spiteri on May 25, 2023 at 1:13 pm

    What if you use them as indicators? The current wouldn’t be long term so there would be chance for them to cool down. Also, indicators are used only for a limited time. So they should be ok running off a standard battery right?



  38. Sam Adler on May 25, 2023 at 1:14 pm

    looking for info on how to cut a COB strip like this, its linear with 40 led’s on it, the power instead of being on both ends, comes out offset on the top about 10 led’s down. is it possible to cut anything like this?



  39. Scantron's Garage on May 25, 2023 at 1:14 pm

    Are they flexible at all?



  40. Årstatompa on May 25, 2023 at 1:15 pm

    Addendum.My strip has only 1 row of 28 cob leds at 6,5W but it is still too strong light.



  41. Årstatompa on May 25, 2023 at 1:17 pm

    I ordered these cheap strips from china.They are really strong:6,5W@12V@550mA.Almost illegaly strong light.I also tested them if they would sustain if emerged in water and they did.Are the soldering points covered whith a lacquer or so if they don´t can be short cut?
    The chinese call it nano-but this is only a buzz word for a more ordinary method to isolate electrically,I think.



  42. sim shogun on May 25, 2023 at 1:18 pm

    Cars normally run at up to 14.4 volts at which point the vehicles alternator cuts in, the normal vehicle battery voltage is around 12.6 volts stationary and up to 14.4 volts engine running, therefore it is vital thet both voltage and current are regulated before using these items in a vehicle application.



  43. Sunil Babu on May 25, 2023 at 1:19 pm

    Nayinte Mon jaffer mpl game



  44. Jan Wiersma on May 25, 2023 at 1:20 pm

    hi. is it possible to use these 12 volt COB strips, or actually the nicely colored ones with 5 led’s in one COB. you probably know which ones i mean and put them in series to use them in a 24 volt circuit for a indication light on an industrial CNC milling machine where normally the (Christmas tree) is. thats broken and uses 24 volts.
    for instance. at a machine failure. the red COB’s light on. and then i thought soldering 2 COB’s in series, and then parallel with two other red COB’s who are in series. so i can observe the machine from all four sides.
    and do this with 4 green ones and 4 yellow and 4 blue COB’s and slide them back into the old glas "Christmas tree"
    i thought doing series so i hopefully dont need the use of resistors.

    those Banggood things:

    10pcs DC12V 2W COB LED Chip Light White Yellow Orange Green Blue Red Purple Lamp for DIY – Red

    my boss bought a new one for about 800 euro’s and i wanna repair the old one to make him go nuts. LOL
    thanks.



  45. Tony Tapia on May 25, 2023 at 1:20 pm

    I want to use these for reverse extra lights to see the sidewalk and such things…anybody think it’s a bad idea?



  46. Gardy faustin on May 25, 2023 at 1:21 pm

    I have the exact same . I removed to positive and negative and welded a thicker gauge wire…



  47. Lolfluffy32 on May 25, 2023 at 1:22 pm

    i had a set of these and some others like it mounted to my car, they last for quite a while before failing, even though they heat up like crazy you shouldnt forget a car is usually in motion and the driving wind will cool them down



  48. Ptica Polska on May 25, 2023 at 1:23 pm

    2 old ones keep runing for about 4-5 years. 4 new ones got burned after 3 months . All of them



  49. Martin Torres on May 25, 2023 at 1:23 pm

    I purchased these at pepboys for a closet in my travel trailer I had them on for about 20 minutes after connecting them and I started smelling something burning. sure enough the damn thing were so hot. needless to say I had to remove them and buy a better set.